Window control device



March 19, 1935. R H, BUTTERS 1,994,940

WINDOW CONTROL DEVICE Filed March. 8, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS March 19, 1935. BUTTERS 1,994,940

WINDOW CONTROL DEVICE Filed March 8, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented .Mar. 19, 1935 WINDOW ooNTRoL; DEVICE 7 Robert H. Butters, Atlanta, Ga. Application March 8, 1933, Serial No;'660,0 1-I 11 Claims.. (c1.1*z-7 s14) This invention relates to improvements in window control devices, and more particularly to a device which is adapted to hold a window in an I elevated or open position and which is operative,

at will, to release the window and permit it to descend by gravity to its closed position.

The invention contemplates adevice which is available for co-operation with a number of similar units to provide a window control system, whereby the various windows of a building may be closed simultaneously when occasion demands.

One object of the invention is to provide a device of the type generally describedwhich may be controlled either at the window with which the device is associated or at a remote point, it being understood that various .forms of remote controlling devices may be used. 1

A further object is to provide a device which is so designed that the window isclosed quietly,. this object contemplating a device in which provision is made for regulating the speed at which the window descends from its open position to its closed position.

A still further object is to provide a device which is adapted to secure the window at any one of a plurality of predetermined positions and which is operative at any one of said positions to release the window and permit it to close in the manner described;

A still further object is to provide a device which is conditioned when the window with which it is associated is closed to sound an alarm in the event that the window is raised, this object contemplating a burglar alarm system in which one or more of the said devices may be connected.

A still further object is a novel arrangement of the parts of the device whereby to provide a unitary construction.

The invention is illustrated in ing drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of awindow to which a device embodying features of the inventionis applied, the said device being included, together with a plurality of similar devices in. a

the accompanycombined control and burglar alarm system.

Figure 1a is a fragmentary section taken along line 1a1a of Figure 1. I v V Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through one of the devices and illustrates the arrangement of the parts, thereof when the window is held in one of its open positions.

Figure 3' is a horizontal section taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2. r

Figure 4 is a similar section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure is a; view similar to Figure 2 showing the arrangement f theparts of the device when thewindow is closed; j, v

Figure 6 is a perspective view ofithelatch piece releasing member. a

Figure 7 1s a similar'view of the. latch-piece.

The device; as illustrated,. Includes a housing which is provided byva box 10 and a. tubular member 11. The box 1 0 may be madelof any suitable material, a metal box being assumed in. the drawings, and is normally closed by 'a removabl'e cover plate. 10a; Thetubular member, carries a foot-piece 12' which is formed with" a flange 13; the said flange being availed of "to secure the foot-piece to the sill 14 (Figure '1) of theiwindow with which the device is associated. At its upper endfthe deviceiis connected to the lower sash- 150i" thehwind'ow by, a bracket 16; the bracket. and foot-piece being securedto. the sash and sill such a manner that the control box and member 11 are arranged'in close proximity to a vertical frame' member 17' of the win-" dowcasing.

The bracket 16 is carried V is mounted for movement, out or, and into the housing as the sash is raised and lowered. '.'Ihe rod extends through openings 19 and 20 which. are formed inthe top and bottom walls, respectively, of the box 10,and' is'enclosed' throughout itsgreater part of its length in the tubular mem-f ber 11. .In order to insulate the rod from the housing, the former is preferably mounted in. bushings 21 of suitablefinsulating. material which are arranged in theopenings 19 and 20 At its: lower'end the rod 18"ca'rries a piston 22 which, asillustrated, consists; of aninsulatingdisc-23, a sealing element 24' and a disc-like member 25-,

' the said parts being securedagainst a'shoulder lating disc 12a is arranged inlthe. bott'o, ofthe prevent the rod,

cylinder 11a and is adapted to by a rod' 18 whichl from contacting. with the foot-piece 12 .1 The rod 18, therefore, is insulated' throughout itsg entire extentfrom the various. parts of the device. The disc 12a is formed withan opening 1212 which communicates with a passage 1-20, the latter being. formed in the foot-piece 12; valveelement 12d extends into Y the passage -.112 e.;and is adjustable to regulate the flowof air to. and: v 1

permitted to descend may be controlled by reg- 18, When thesash is'released it descends by gravity until the end 35 of the latch piece enters -the spring 36, to the position shown infulllines.

ulating the valve element 12d. Quiet closing of the window is thus insured. In order to facili tate opening of the window a suitable aperture may be formed in the member 11 at the upper end thereof to permit passage of air into and out of the cylinder at Jtheupperside of the piston. r N

Means is provided whereby the sash 15' may be held open at any one of a plurality of'predetermined positions. To this end the rod 18 is formed at predetermined points with annular notches 28, the said notches corresponding to the various elevated positions in which the sash may be supported. A latch-piece. 29 forcooperating with r the said notches is pivotally mounted in the box 10 upon a pin 30. The' latter is carried by a boss 31 which -issuitably formed or provided upon a vertical wall 32 of the box. In order to insulate the latch-piece 29 from the box 10 it is arrangedjov'er an insulating sleeve 33 (Figure 3) and between insulating washers 34, all :of the said insulating parts being carried by the pin The latch-piece 29 is supported in' such relation to the rod 18 thatthe end 35 thereof is adapted to enter a notch 28 as the latter moves to a point opposite the end 30 35. 'Entry of the end 35 of the latch-pieceinto the said notch is effected by a spring 36. The

latter is connected 'at'one' end to a pin 35a which is carried by the end 35 of the latch-piece and W at its opposite end to a terminal strip, 37. The

terminal strip is secured tolaside wall 38: of

the box 10 by a screw-39, the said strip being insulated from the box and the screw by insulating elements 40 and 41. In' the use. of the device the sash 15, is raised to a point slightly above the heightdesired and then released. As the sash is raised.th'e latch-piece 29 is moved to the dotted. line position shown in FigureIE,v

thereby permitting upward movement of the rod theadiacent notch on the rod 18. Itwill be noted that the end 35 of the said latch-piece is preferably rounded in orderto insure relative movement betweenthe latch-piece and vthe rod 'until theformer enters anotch. As the end "35 enters a notch the latch-piece assumes/the horizontalposition which is shown in. full lines in Figure 2. position the opposite end 42 thereof engages a shoulder 43 whichis suitably formed or provided upon a member 44. The latter is pivotally mounted upon a pin which issupportedfrom the bottom wall 32 of the box. ,Thelmember. 44 is normally held in the position shown by a spring 46, the said spring being suitably secured at one end to the member 44 and bearing 'at its free end against a block 47.1 Atits upper end the mem ber 44 abutsa stop 44a which is a djustable to limit the movement of the lower end of the member in the direction of the latch-piece. It willbe apparent thatby rocking the member 44 abou't the pin 45 from the position shownin Figure 2 the shoulder 43 of the said member will be moved out of the path of. the end 42 of the latch-piece. Upon the release of the end 42 of I the latch-piece the sash 15 moves by gravity toward its closed position. As it moves downwardly the latch-piece is moved, against the action of in Figure 5, the end of'the latch-piece being When the latch-piece. reaches this.

elevated and out of contact with the member 44. The latter is provided with an operating element 48 which extends through an opening 49 formed in the adjacent side wall of the box. Hence by depressing the said element, the member 44 is moved against the action of the spring 46 to release the latch piece and permit the window to close. closed position. Tothis end a latch 15a (Figure 1) is pivotally mounted upon the frame of the window, the said latch co-operating with a stop 151) which is carried by the sash. The latch is so designed that as the sash approaches its closed position, the stop lifts and passes beneath the lower end of the latch, whereby to lock the sash in its closed position when the latch returns, by gravity, to itsnormalposition. Locking of the window is, therefore, automatically effected as the window reaches its closed position.

Means is provided whereby the window may be closed from a remote point. To. this end an el'ectro-magnet '50 is arranged in the control box adjacent the member 44, the said electro-magnet including the block or pole-piece 47. The electro-ma'gnet 50 includes a conventional winding which terminates at one end in a lead-wire 51 which is grounded to the box 10. The opposite end of the winding terminates in a lead-wire 52 which is connected to a terminal strip 53. The

latter isisecured to the side wall 38, of the box.-

fore; that when the switch 59 is closed a :circuit is established through the windingrof the electromagnet 50, the said circuit including the battery 58, wire 60, terminal strip3'l, spring 36, latchpiece 29, member 44 to ground, ground to thc' lead-wire 5 2,jterminalstrip 53,wire 57 and switch 59. Upon, energization of the electro-magnet 5O the upper end of the member 44 is pulled toward the pole-piece 4''! against the action of the spring 46, thereby moving the shoulder 43 of the mem- The terminal strip 53 is con The sash 15 is preferably locked in its her 44 out of the path or" the latch-piece and permitting the sash 15 to descend to its closed position. I 7

From theforegoingit will be apparent that the device. may be operated at'will, either at the window with which it is associated or at a remote point, to cause the window with which it is associated to close. Various forms of automatic remote control devices may be employed. For

example, the device may be operated at a predetermined time to effect the release of the window, thisbeing of particular advantage when it is employed in connection with a bedroom window; In such a case a shunt around the switch 59 is provided by, wires 61 and 62, the said wires beingconnected to a switch (not shown) which is controlled by the mechanism of a clock 63, the clock controlled switch being of any suitable construction and, as will be obvious, being mounted in the c asinggof the clock. The clock may be set to close the circuit through the eiiactro-magnet 50'at a predetermined time, for example, at or about the time that the heating system of the building is conditioned to raise the temperature,

of the room in which the window is located.

The invention contemplates the incorporation with the device of a co-operating burglar alarm wire 68 to one side of the battery 69.

net is broken.

In the embodiment shown in Figure the terminal strip 53 is connected by a wire 64 to a terminal 65 of a switch'65. The latter includes a terminal 67 which is connected by a wire 68 to a battery 69, the opposite side of the battery being connected by a wire 70 to the terminal strip 371' The switch '66 includes a bridge-piece 71 which is rotatable to connect .the terminals 65 and 67 whereby. to energize the elec'tro-magnet 50 in the manner described. The switch 66 includes a second pair of terminals .72 and 73. The former is connected by a. wire 74 to one terminal of abell '75 or any other suitable type of alarm device, the other terminal of the bell being connected by a wire 76 to the wire 64. The terminal 73 of the switch '76 is connected by the Hence when the bridge-piece 71 is moved to connect the terminals '72 and 73 the bell '75 is connected to one side of the battery. 5

In the use of the device, assuming the window to be raised, the bridge-piece '21 occupies the horizontal dotted-line position shown in Figure 5. When it is desiredto close the window the bridge-piece'll is moved to the position in which it connects the terminals '72 and73. During movement of the bridge-piece to this position the terminals 65 and 67 are temporarily connected. The electro-magnet 50 is, therefore, energized during the initial part of the movement of the bridge-piece and the rod 18 is released to permit the window to close. Thus when the window is closed the terminals '72 and '73 of the switch 66 are connected by the bridge-piece. The bell '15, however, is not connected to power at this time as the end 42 of the latch-piece 29 is out of contact with the member 44 (see Figure -5). If, when the switch is conditioned in the manner described, the window is elevated the rod 18 moves upwardly until the end 35 of the latch-piece enters one of the notches 28. As this takes place the latch-piece moves toward a horizontal position, the end 42 thereof moving into contacting relation with the member 44. When the latchpiece contacts with the member 44 a circuit is completed through the bell '75 and the .latter, therefore, is energized to sound an alarm. It will be apparent that as the electro-magnet 50 is included in the alarm circuit the member 44 will be moved to break the circuit if the amount of current required .by the bell '75 is large enough. In this event, however, as soon as the circuit through the electro-magnet is broken and the member 44 again moves into contact with the latch-piece 29 the alarm is again sounded. This movement 01 the arm 44 is rapid and hence the bell '75 will give what is in effect a continuous signal. It will be noted that the entry of the end 35 of the latch-piece into a notch 28 permits the latch-piece to pivot upon the pin 30 to the dotted-line position shown in Figure 5, the end 42 of the latch-piece contacting with the member 44 during this movement to, and while it remains in, I the position shown. When it is desired only to "close the window this may be accom-f farplis'hed by rotating the bridge-piece just enough to connect the contacts '65 and '67.

In the embodiment shown in Figure l a Dl lrality'of the control devices are connected in a system which includes a switch 78,. a bell 79 and abattery 80, the said switch and bell being simi- 'lar to and functioning in substantially the same manner as the corresponding parts shown in Figure 5'. In this embodiment all of 'the'windows with which the devices are associated may be closed simultaneously 'bythe switch 78, it being understood that any one of the said windows may be closed independently by depressing the operating element 48 of the device which is associated with thewindow. The switch '78 may,"

if desired, be conditioned in the manner described in-connection with Figure 5 whereby an alarm' will be sounded in the event that any one of the various windows is raised. From the foregoing it will be apparent that the device may be associated with various windowsof a building, the devices being connected in a system whereby all of the windows may be lowered simultaneously,

if desired. v i

I claim as my invention: t

1. In a device of the character -described,-the combination with a member for holding a window in an open position, of means for moving said member to release said window'and permit it to close by gravity, an electric signal and cir- 1 cuit means including a source of electric power and said member, whereby in the event that said window is raised said signal is connected to power.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination with a member for holding a window in an open position, of means including an electric circuit for moving said member to release said window and permit it to close by gravity, I

said circuit including said member.

3. Ina device of the character described, the combination with a member for holding a window in an open position, of circuit means for moving said member to release said window and permit it to close by gravity, an electric signal and auxiliary circuit means including a source of electric power whereby in the event that said window is raised said signal is connected to power, both of said circuit means including said member.

4. In a device of the characterdescribed'the combination with a rod which is adapted to be connected to a window, of means forengaging said rod to hold said window in an open position, said means including a latch-piece'which is movable under the weight of said window to release said rod, a member for locking said rod and latchpiece againstmovement, circuit means including a source of electric power for moving said member to release said latch-piece and permit said window to close by gravity, an electric signal and auxiliary circuit means for connecting said signal to power in the event that said window is raised, both of said circuit means including said member and said latch-piece.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination with a rod which is adapted to be connected to a window, said rod being provided operating relation with any one of said shoulders,

piston carried by said rod and movable rod is slidably mounted, said housing being adapted to be connected to the frame of said window andinoluding a box and a tubular member, means located in said box for engaging said rod to hold said window in an open position, said means including a latch-piece, an element for locking said latch-piece and rod against movement, circuit means including a source of electric power for moving said element to release said latch-piece and permit said, window to lower by gravity, a in said tubular member to retard the movementfof said window toward its closed position, said circuit means including an electro-magnet, an electric signal and auxiliary circuit means for connecting 'said signal to power in the event that said window is raised, both of said circuit means including said latch-piece and element.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination with a window and an element which is movable to a position in which it is adapted to hold said window open, of a movable member for locking said element insaid position, resilient means for normally holding said member in its locking position, a solenoid, an electric circuit for energizing said solenoid, said solenoid moving said member when energized to release said element and permit said window to close, an electricsignal device, a normally open auxiliary electric circuit which includes said device and means 'for closing said auxiliary'circuit when said window is raised, said auxiliary circuit including said element and said member. I

8. In a device of the character described, the combination with a window and an element which is movable to a position in which it is adapted to hold said window open, of a movable member for locking said element in said position, resilient means for normally holdingsaidmember in its locking position, a solenoid and an electric circuit for energizing said solenoid, said solenoid moving said member when energized to release said element and permit said window to close, said circuit including said element and said member.

9. In a device of the character described, the

combination with a window and an element which is movable to a position in which it is adapted to hold said window open, of a movable member for locking said element in said position, resilient means for normally holding said member in its locking position, a solenoid, an electric circuit for energizing said solenoid, said circuit including said movable member, said solenoid moving said member when energized against the action of said resilient means to release said element and permit said window to close, a signal device and an auxiliary electric circuit which is normally open and which includes said device, said element being movable in the event that said window is raised to close said auxiliary circuit.

10. In a device of the character described, the

combination with a window and an element which is movable to a position in which it is adapted to hold said window open, of a movable member for locking said element in said position, resilient means for normally holding said member in its locking position, a solenoid and an electric circuit for energizing said solenoid, said circuit including said element, said solenoid moving said member when energized against the action of said resilient means to release said element and permit said window to close, said element breaking said circuit as it moves out of contact with said member.

11. In a device of the character described, the combination with a window and an element which is movable to a position for holding said window open, of a movable member for locking said element in-said position, resilient means for normally holding said member in its locking position, a solenoid; an electric circuit for energizing said solenoid, said solenoid moving said member when energized against the action of said resilient means to release said element and permit said window to close, a signal device and an auxiliary electric circuit which includes said signal device, said element, said member and said solenoid, said element being movable to a position out of contact with said member as said window closes thereby maintaining said auxiliary circuit open, said element being movable in the event that said window is raised to contact said member and close said auxiliary circuit, said solenoid upon such occurrence causing said member to vibrate similarly to the armature of a buzzer, thereby to cause said signal device to give a substantially continuous indication.

ROBERT H. BUTTERS. 

